Complicated egg bound case

[JustAnotherWeirdo]

Yesterday I noticed me pekin hen sitting very still and strangely outside through the window but didn’t think much of it and assumed she was probably just napping and when I went out at night to check on them she was in the coop on her usual sleeping place. This morning she was just sitting in one place and being pretty unresponsive then I felt the egg and knew it must be that. So I’d assume it’s already been a full day of her being egg bound.

I don’t know her exact age but I bought her as a young hen (I estimate 4-5 months old) and this is the very first egg she has produced which doesn’t help at all.

I gave her a quick epsom salt soak this morning because she didn’t like it very much and then later on I saw for easily an hour with her in the water while slowly and gently moving the egg towards the vent. It thankfully feels to have a hard shell but the issue is that I’m able to push it right by the vent to the point where I can barely feel the bottom of the egg anymore but the moment I let go the egg “falls” down the tract again and the hen is not attempting to push the egg at all.

I have her in my bedroom wrapped in a towel where it’s quiet and calm around her, offered some chick food and scrambled eggs but she’s not interested and I’m able to get her to drink only small amounts of (vitamin and electrolyte) water now and then. The crop is empty and she just has her eyes closed the whole time.

I gave her some olive oil in the beak with a syringe (apparently supposed to help lubricate things a bit and there’s no harm in trying at least) an hour ago but no progress and she’s only tried pushing once for a very short while.

I’m unsure what to do now, I don’t have access to a vet (out of town until next week) nor an injectable or liquid calcium supplement. I don’t know wether I should go put her in a warm epsom salt bath and try massaging the egg out again or not out of fear of it breaking on that last bit out or doing other forms of damage. You can tell the vent isn’t really “stretched out” or adapted for egg laying yet since this is the very first one.

 

[RubelliteRose]

an injectable or liquid calcium supplement

The calcium does not have to be injectable or liquid. You can give her a human calcium citrate + D3 pill once a day for up to 7 days. Tums can also be used, but the calcium citrate is supposed to work faster.

 

[JustAnotherWeirdo]

The calcium does not have to be injectable or liquid. You can give her a human calcium citrate + D3 pill once a day for up to 7 days. Tums can also be used, but the calcium citrate is supposed to work faster.

I’ve searched through the cabinets and couldn’t find any except my prescription 50 000IU vitamin D supplements that definitely won’t do lol. Both pharmacies in town have already closed for the day due to it being a public holiday and I have no form of transportation to the grocery store someone to ask to get me some

Is there perhaps another form of a common household calcium supplement I would be able to forcefully get her to consume considering she won’t eat? I’ve thought perhaps washing and finely blending eggshells with water but very unsure of how well that could work.

 

[RubelliteRose]

not that I can think of, but let me tag a few people who may have other ideas for you. @Eggcessive @azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[RubelliteRose]

In the mean time, you could try giving her another warm epsom salt soak.
Is she able to poop or is the egg preventing that?
Also, if she has stopped drinking or isn't drinking enough, you can carefully syringe water along side her beak or into the front of her beak so she doesn't become too dehydrated.

 

[JustAnotherWeirdo]

In the mean time, you could try giving her another warm epsom salt soak.
Is she able to poop or is the egg preventing that?
Also, if she has stopped drinking or isn't drinking enough, you can carefully syringe water along side her beak or into the front of her beak so she doesn't become too dehydrated.

A few minutes ago I tried massaging the egg out again and some very stinky liquid poop came out which is probably more of a good than bad thing here I guess

 

[JustAnotherWeirdo]

I’m about to try massaging again so maybe there’s hope now if the previous very short one managed to get something done, the egg is now also sitting closer down the tract than this morning when I started treating it! Sadly none of the poultry vitamins I have on hand currently contain calcium so I may need to see if I can get her to ingest just a little bit of the calcium grit I keep in the enclosures or the eggshells in her scrambled eggs because that definitely might help the muscles push out the egg better

 

[azygous]

This is one of the most critical issues we can have with our hens. Here are the most important things to do.

Calcium. Call a neighbor or relative and borrow some Tums. Break a tablet into four pieces and feed each piece directly into her beak. Put it into the right side of the beak and it will go right down into her crop. Do this again with a second Tums tablet. This is crucial to generate contractions and to keep her blood calcium high to avoid heart attack during this crisis.

Second, she needs moist heat, not necessarily a soak. Place her in a crate or box on moistened towels with a heating pad on medium to high setting under the towels. She should be in a dimly lit room that is quiet.

Third, and very important, make clean water available to her as egg binding can be dehydrating to her body. The stuck egg is diverting fluids away from her tissues just when she needs them to be moist. The smelly fluids coming out of her is evidence of this. Put one teaspoon of sugar into one cup water and dip her beak to get her interested. This will raise her glucose and stabilize her.

One last thing you can do is to mix a little dish soap with some warm water and with a syringe, squirt a little just inside the cloaca to lubricate those tissues. Do not insert the syringe more than half an inch into the vent. You are just lubricating the tissue just inside the rim of the vent. This is NOT an enema.

Then be patient and wait.